I thought this might have something to do with Tupolevs. I remember they did something similar with plastic animals in Edinburgh. Again, they were plastered with various artwork.

You could display it in something akin to a large aquarium, with native species of aquatic flora and fauna for company.

You don’t have to look too far to find other vintage airframes at risk of destruction. This is something I’ve always found fascinating, as it is a global phenomenon with the aviation enthusiast community. Find a completely smashed up B29 in the jungle somewhere, or blown to smithereens in China Lake, or chopped up and left to rot in a lake in Alaska, and people begin salivating at the thought of heisting it out of there using the most advanced technology. However there must be a solid half dozen B29s left as ‘birds on sticks’ at various air force bases across the US in next-to-derelict condition. The inner Indiana Jones appears to come out when the aircraft wreck is next to impossible to remove. I understand ‘Will it be at Legends?’ was a meme of sorts on here at one point in time, but there does seem to be the attitude that a rotten airframe is worth restoring whereas a neglected one is not. Cases in point, the Pershore collection or the Catalina at Weston that was scrapped only back in 2012.

Re 263,

I thought you were generally in favour of personal liberty? What is the issue here? As far as I can tell, breasfeeding is only an issue because people wrongly sexualise it. I don’t feel sorry for those that feel embarrassed to be in the presence of a breastfeeding woman. That is their problem for them to overcome, not the fault of the mother. If anybody can demonstrate that there are ‘attention seeking earth mothers’ then please do! I’ve seen no evidence of this, and I do go outside once in a while.

I wish the BBC would stop giving Brand airtime. They did the same with Ross, under the mistaken belief that today’s yoof will tune in if these clowns are allowed to speak.

That sounds a little like Sharia law to me.

Have car drivers always been as clueless about the dimensions of their vehicles??:(

Cars have steadily increased in size over the years. My parents’ house, constructed in the ’60s, has a garage suitable for a Morris Minor. My father tends to drive the Volkswagen model that represents the ‘Golf plus a boot’ model, be it the Jetta (’80s), Bora, Vento or Jetta (current). What he has found is that every iteration of this design of car has grown bigger. The new VW Polo is now as big as the first generation Golf, and VW have had to introduce the diminutive Up! and Fox models to fill the void at the tiny end.

As for drivers, perhaps the introduction of bigger cabin interiors and crumple zones creates a detachment from the surrounding environment that leads to careless driving.